Mortgage Default Information

Foreclosure fix-ups put contractors back to work

BUILDER Online |

In Brief...

On a sunny hillside in Soquel, contractor David Doan is putting people to work, turning a foreclosure fixer-upper from shabby into move-in condition. Doan, 61, who has 30 years' experience, is thankful investors are calling for his services. "As long it sells, they're happy," said Doan. Doan says 90 percent of his work comes from real estate agents. Doan's son Ryan, 33, works on the remodel during the day and goes to law school in Monterey at night. His father said he's spent about $40,000 at Home Depot in the past six months but he's also patronized Big Creek Lumber, ProBuild, The Skylight Place and Santa Cruz Tile and Marble Outlet. When lenders foreclose, they sell properties "as is. Wanda Williams, Santa Cruz County assistant planning director, said this year's permit activity remains down from last year. For the first three quarters of 2010, there were 62 building permits for new homes and 416 remodeling applications, compared to 85 new homes and 656 remodels in the same time frame last year. "The market is a little stronger, " said Jim Johann, general manager at Big Creek Lumber, emphasizing little.

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